Sermon preached by Fr. Tom
at St. Thomas Episcopal – Plymouth
March 16, 2014
The Second Sunday of Lent
Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17
“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be an acceptable offering in your sight, Oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”
Nicodemus is not especially a sympathetic character in this reading. He sneaks over to see Jesus at night so no one will be him go. He does not seem to have much conviction. He does not seem especially bright when we first meet him. There is a lot to dislike.
You have to cut Nicodemus some slack. He had a lot to lose. He was almost certainly a member of the Sanhedrin, the seventy men responsible for the religious life of Israel. He was a man of power and influence. Being seen with Jesus is likely to start problems for him. I get that, but I still want him to be a little more brave.
It is easy to write off Nicodemus when we first meet him. We are mostly interested in John 3:16 anyway.
“For God so loved the world,
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish,
but have eternal life” (v. 16).
These are beautiful words, but there is more to the passage than John 3:16.
Nicodemus extended himself considerably to come to Jesus. Most often, a man in his position would summon the younger man to come to him, or would confront the younger man to put him in his place. That clearly wasn’t what Nicodemus was doing when he came to see Jesus. He called Jesus, “Rabbi.” He said,
“We know that you are a teacher come from God,
for no one can do these signs that you do,
unless God is with him” (v. 2).
Then Nicodemus seems a little slow. Jesus tells him,
“Don’t marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’
I think we are predisposed to be critical of Nicodemus. Here is a ‘powerful man who is a teacher of Israel. He is confused by something that Jesus says. I will confess that sometimes I am confused by things Jesus says. Maybe you have been as well. Maybe Nicodemus is a person we can all relate to.
Nicodemus does a lot to redeem himself in Scripture after this bad start. When the Sanhedrin later decided to convict Jesus, Nicodemus asked, “Does our law judge a man, unless it first hears from him personally and knows what he does?” (7:52). His colleagues overruled Nicodemus, but really that makes it all the more courageous that he was willing to challenge their decision.
After Jesus’ death, Nicodemus contributed expensive spices for Jesus’ burial. At first glance, that might seem too little, too late, but I see it as a mark of real strength and compassion. Jesus was dead. It seemed that he was not the messiah they expected. He still wanted to treat the dead man with respect. You have to give him some credit there.
At this point Nicodemus had really everything to lose politically and socially. He did what he knew was right and went to honor a man he believed was sent from God. Somewhere he had changed from being a little cowardly to being a man who would stand on his convictions and do the right thing. I have to respect that.
So we have to ask, “What does the story of Nicodemus have to do with us?” I think the is, “a lot.” The story of Nicodemus is the story of Christian discipleship in a lot of ways.
The story of Nicodemus shows us that Christian discipleship is messy and not always easy. Nicodemus felt drawn by Jesus, but he also felt hesitant. I can understand that. He wants to be cautious. I can be cautious too.
Nicodemus needed to determine whether he should support Jesus or oppose him. There was no middle ground. C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity:
“A man who was merely a man
and said the sort of things Jesus said
would not be a great moral teacher.
…
You must make your choice.
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God,
or else a madman or something worse.”
Jesus was either the Son of God or he was a lunatic, or he was the devil himself. Jesus wasn’t just a great teacher or a really nice guy. Jesus was either the Son of God or he was crazy or he was the devil. I am not seeing any other choices really.
That was the dilemma that Nicodemus faced. He had to choose. Most of his colleagues had determined that Jesus was the devil, but Nicodemus had to make up his own mind. I have to respect that. Nicodemus is not a guy who just goes along with the crowd.
That’s the dilemma we’re faced with too. We have to decide whether we’re for or against Jesus, because there is no “in between.” In the book of Revelation, we read,
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were cold or hot.
So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold,
I will vomit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).
We talk about people who go through the motions of being faithful. They are culturally Christians, but it does not seem to make much difference in their lives. I don’t want to judge, but if you have to ask how someone is different because he or she follows Christ, maybe they are not very good disciples.
The fact is that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness, and Jesus is happy to forgive us. Grace is abundant, and that is a good thing. But being a sinner is different from not caring. Jesus has lots of tolerance for sinners, but none at all for not caring. Jesus wants our hearts. Nicodemus cares and he is different because he believes in Jesus.
Another thing we can learn from Nicodemus is how to face adversity. Jesus didn’t give Nicodemus an easy road. For Nicodemus to follow Jesus meant swimming against a really strong tide. His colleagues were bright, respected and powerful men. To stand up to them required courage and faith.
Nicodemus did not back down even after the Sanhedrin had succeeded in killing Jesus. Nicodemus brought burial spices to anoint Jesus’ body. He remained constant in faith even when there was no longer any reason to believe. It was over. Jesus was dead and gone. But Nicodemus wasn’t gone. Nicodemus was right there with Jesus to the bitter end.
Of course, it didn’t turn out to be the bitter end. Yes, there was Good Friday with its cross, but Easter lay just around the corner. Easter Sunday validated Jesus’ ministry, and it validated Nicodemus’ faith.
When we are at the end of our rope, I think we might do well to remember Nicodemus. Courage and faith can be tough. Being a follower of Jesus is not always easy, but in the end, Jesus redeems us and he redeems situations.
I heard the bishop preach this text once at a confirmation in the Academies Chapel. The wind was howling, and the building almost seemed to shake from the force of it.
Jesus tells us in this reading that “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
As situations in your life shake your faith or threaten your courage, remember Nicodemus. He was cautious, but he met Jesus and his life was never the same. That is the kind of disciple I want us to be.
Jesus says, “No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
By the grace of God, we are born from above.
We need to have courage and stay faithful.
If the Holy Spirit is at work, and we don’t have to understand. We have to be faithful and obedient to our call.
I have said these words in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.